At his press briefing, the former commander of the Oromo Liberation Front (OLA), Jal Sagni Nagasa, on Friday was publicly seen wearing the Ethiopian National Defense Force’s (ENDF) uniform, which sparked confusion in the public square.
His press briefing, which was held today in Addis Ababa, came after he signed a “peace deal” with Shimelis Abdissa, president of the Oromia regional state, on December 1, 2024.
Many microblogging and social media users, including the former AP correspondent Elias Meseret, have criticized Jal Sagni’s appearance in ENDF’s uniform and warned that the scene could negatively impact the public perceptions, leading to the idea that “both ENDF and OLA were working together.”
Following the “peace deal,” the former commander of OLA, Jal Sangi, and his comrades visited many “development” sites in the capital and were warmly welcomed by the Mayor of Addis Ababa City, Adanech Abebe.
In today’s press briefing, Jal Segni, has “dismissed the rumors circulating on social media about the agreement as baseless,” a state-affiliated media EBC reported, explaining that OLA has addressed the “people’s demands”.
OLF-OLA, categorized as “Shene” by Addis Ababa, which led by Kumsa Diriba commonly known as Jaal Marroo, dismayed the Oromia Prosperity Party’s claim of reaching a “peace deal” with the splinter group’s leader, Sagni Nagasa as a “fabricated drama”.
“The regime is attempting to rehabilitate irrelevant individuals who were expelled months ago from OLA for sabotage,” OLF-OLA added.
Jal Segni, in his today’s press briefing, however, said “they signed the agreement to address the people’s demands and not, as the rumors suggest, to deceive the government and undermine others,” the EBC’s report informs.
According to article 43(1) of the Council of Ministers’ regulation No.460/2019 of the Defense Forces Administration, “the Ministry shall provide a special military uniform which only members of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia defense forces are entitled to wear.”
Section 2 of the regulation also states, “wearing of a clothing by any person similar to the uniform that used by the defense forces shall be prohibited.”
